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The archipelago of the Madeira Islands is located in the Atlantic Ocean about 700 miles southwest of Portugal and consists of two inhabited islands, Madeira and Porto Santo, and two groups of islets, the Desertas and the Selvagens, which are not populated. Madeira is the largest island of the archipelago measuring 22 km in width and 57 in length with Funchal as its capital city and is crossed by a mountain range rising to 1862 m above sea level at Pico Ruivo separating the two highlands of Santo Antonio da Serra and Paul da Serra. The mild all year round climate makes Madeira a favourite holiday destination offering plenty of facilities including water sports, restaurants, luxury hotels, shops and bars. The name comes from the large forests and dense vegetation that used to cover the whole territory, in fact in the Portuguese language Madeira means “wood”. Today the economy is based on tourism and agriculture, mainly tropical fruits, sugar plantations and vineyard producing the famous Madeira wine exported the world over.